I use to be Snow White, but I drifted …

Daily Archives: June 16, 2011

We had a most spectacular family photo shoot and 38th, going on 14 birthday picnic at the JHB Zoo with a Giraffe theme (my favourite animal) this past Saturday. There are naturally also pictures on Face Book. I cannot wait to get the actual disc of pictures from the talented Jenty. We have decided to blow up some pictures to hang up at home, it is going to look fantastic!

It was touch and go there for a few days with the weather being horrid, but on the day of the shoot and picnic – beautiful sunny highveld skies. I am hugely thankful.

Thank you to everyone who came, for all the lovely gifts (for actually believing me when I said I would like socks lol) and for my husband who totally spoiled me with a new laptop. :) Yay! I love you!

Also, wanted to thank dear Jax (and Connor) who stepped up when Danielle became ill (hope you better now babe) and couldn’t bake me a giraffe cake. I can’t bake to save my life and no home industry would bake me a cake for the next morning! Thank you my friend for coming to my rescue with the gorgeous purple giraffe cake and flower cupcakes (that was purple inside). :) I loved it.

The kids are all doing well. Writing exams which is a pain in the ass as the schools close at different times and the kids have to be fetched at odd times.

Nic (our eldest one son who is in university) came to visit for the weekend and spent some extra days with us this week. What a lovely kid he is and how thankful I am that his Mom shares him with us with such grace. My favourite x wife even sent me lovely gift with a giraffe gift bag!!!! Thanks Cal. Thank you Nic for fetching the kids for me when I wasn’t feeling good, I really appreciate it. Nic is enjoying his studies and his music – both of which I encourage him greatly. He is the most calming influence and has the most laid back attitude, to the point of wanting to give him a kick up the ass at times hehehehehe. I am glad we also had some time to really chat. Nic is the most gentle of souls and there is nothing not to love.

Darling Kevin is confident his matric mid-year exams are going well and he does study proper. He is forever asking me to print study notes and he has taken matric very seriously and as I already blogged made the top 10 in his school this term. Kev has found himself a girlfriend. I worry because I don’t want a girl influencing his mood, nor take focus away from his exams – but such is life and I am happy he found someone to love. Everyone needs someone to love. He is a kick ass kid and I am hugely proud of him in all ways.

Liam James off course doesn’t know when he is writing what and needs constant reminding this is not a game where he gets a free pass. He doesn’t seem greatly interested in studying, nor making subject choices for next year. Is like ‘whatever man!” Oi vey! He is far more interested in exploring the estate we live in and building ramps for his trick bike or jumping on the trampoline. May I remind you the young man is 15? not 5? He is a funny nutter, but I love him…. although I frequently want to velcro him to the wall.

Victoria is doing slightly better at school… and her teacher is no longer suggesting she is depressed. Victoria had a hard time letting go of the old house and moving but she is now settled. She is paying more attention to her school work but not enough as far as I am concerned. I am not always great at checking every detail, maybe because Kev is such a breeze and Liam James, well, according to him he has never had homework in all of his school career you know. LOL We sending Victoria for extra Afrikaans lessons ’cause she sucks at it, which I feel responsible for since I didn’t raise bi-lingual kids and I am very proudly Afrikaans. Kevin’s Afrikaans is awesome, which I credit my soul mate, Melanywith. Not even an accent but both Liam James and Victoria, mmmmmm. Victoria also rides her bike on a daily basis now which I am grateful for since the poor kid has no co-ordination for sport. Some physical exercise is great. Victoria makes a mean cup of tea and since I set up a ‘hotel‘ (a tray with kettle and coffee/tea goodies) in our room (anything to avoid climbing the stairs as my sister Rentia said) she loves to make me some. Love her so lots.

Douglas and Jenna-Lee I am not involved with school wise but they seem perfectly okay and well-adjusted when they visit. They also LOVE the parks in the estate and lots of time is spent at the trampoline. Jenna helped me open my birthday gifts with great excitement but seemed really confused as to why I wanted socks for my birthday. :) Douglas and I chat a bit more heart to heart generally, but I was most surprised when Jenna came to lie with me on Friday night and just started chatting away about all that is happening in her life. I love them both and find them very sweet and always kind towards me.

My husband is doing well at work and have been invited to participate in another leadership type something. I don’t always know what is what, ’cause he is always into something (like Liam hehehehe) but he is doing very well and continues to kick ass. He has been quite the handyman around here also and we are loving the house. My illness is causing him great frustration ’cause he can’t just fix it…. It is his 40th birthday next month, so there is a party in the planning. All our kids will be here and his siblings from Cape Town. I am very thankful for all the big and small things he does for me and I do love him very much – especially when I am bloody difficult to live with when in pain.

Besides a weekend in Cape Town in August to celebrate Noid’s mom’s 60th, we have no other travel coming up which I am just fine with. Our house feels like we on holiday anyway as Victoria says…. we just need maybe somebody to cook? heheheh I was wondering if I should suggest we do something in December, but I truly feel no need to go anywhere, nor see anyone.

With my job situation sorted, I am MUCH, HUGELY happier and hugely thankful. I do worry because my illness has kept me off work more than I would have hoped or liked. I have tried hard to keep all updated and to give it a good go. It is a scary prospect for me that my work may feel I can’t cut it. I hope they don’t give up on me just yet.

The best way to treat Ankylosing Spondylitis I have decided is not to have it at all! Seriously. This week the chemo hit me for a six and I seriously just wanted to crawl in a corner and cry. Okay, instead I crawled into my bed with the electric blanket and cried – but you get my point.

Yesterday was the worst I had ever felt on the medication. It felt like my insides wanted to leave my body via my mouth. My stomach was so sore as if it was pulling itself into a ball. Besides this, my back is incredibly sore. It feels like an axe is lodged right between my shoulder blades and is staying there, matched by a lower back pain. This pain is not present all the time, but yesterday was fucking BAD.

In desperation, last night I went on a googling mission to see about other patients and how they deal with the most common side effect nausea… I got some tips that I will try this coming week and I hope it lessons the blow because I’m starting to seriously dread Tuesdays.

I feel extreme fatigue, i.e. the thought of taking a bath seems like a concept I don’t even want to consider… and my quality of life right now, I am questioning a bit. I am tired, all the time, I am sore in some place in my body almost all the time, it just depends where and how much…. I want to sleep at 8pm which impacts on my time with Noid who only leaves work at 6pm.

My Tranquil Body Treat sales is very low this month…. doesn’t excite me as I seriously wanted to keep my distributor of the Month legacy alive and well, since my name has featured every month since I started selling last year!

Hope that was a good general update. Anything else you wanted to know about I have not covered?